Obama's Disastrous Middle Ground on Afghanistan

Barack -- Worst. President. Ever. -- Obama has ruled out an Afghan troop increase for now, phrased differently at the New York Times, "Obama Rules Out Large Reduction in Afghan Force."

But I love this headline from the Los Angeles Times, " Obama Mulls Middle Ground in Afghanistan War Strategy" (via Memeorandum):

At a White House meeting aimed at tempering increasingly politicized debate over the war in Afghanistan, President Obama told congressional leaders Tuesday that he does not plan to dramatically reduce the American troop level or switch to a strictly counter-terrorism mission.

Asking for patience until he completes an assessment of the situation over the next few weeks, the president urged lawmakers to keep their minds open to a nuanced range of options.

Obama did not indicate to the bipartisan group whether he is leaning toward or against a significant troop escalation. Instead, he suggested he is looking at the middle range of the spectrum, somewhere between a major increase in forces and a large drawdown.

"The president reiterated that we need this debate to be honest and dispense with the straw man argument that this is about either doubling down or leaving Afghanistan," one senior administration official said after the meeting ended.

You know, Obama's certainly building his creds as the master of presidential disaster. Americans elect presidents to lead the country. Barack Obama in turn give them the back of his hand . In refusing to make tough decisions on the war, Obama is hoping to carve out squiggle room for 2012. He's betting that no matter what happens to the deployment -- and we well may lose in the absence of decisive leadership -- he'll be able to come down on one side or the other in the electoral debates on Afghanistan during the campaign.

Meanwhile, American troops are dying in a series of recent attacks that are being called some of the worst losses in the war. Disgraceful.